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Friday, April 20, 2018

Review of Age of Assassins by R. J. Barker

We are now somewhere in the middle of the fantasy shrapnel
cloud that exploded some time around the release of the Harry Potter novels and
Lord of the Rings films.As pieces whiz
by with greater frequency, the titles have become meaningless blurs—The Dragon’s Sword, A Warrior’s Oath, and Shield &
Throne are titles I just invented but could easily be on the market
somewhere.Fantasy’s covers have stretched
further and further apart—like a waistline after pasta and beer—as writers
worldbuild ad nauseum.Its clichés and stereotypes have been
constructed, deconstructed, and reconstructed to the point subversion is almost
meaningless.Its low roads have been
ridden hard, and its high roads occasionally explored.It has been integrated with every other genre
out there—romance, noir, mystery, horror, etc.—in attempts to be fresh and
innovative.And with self-publishing an
option, it seems everybody and their brother is writing an epic fantasy
trilogy.How then to distinguish the
good from the bad, the worthwhile from the useless?Trial and error, unfortunately.With R.J. Barker’s Age of Assassins (2017), first in The Wounded Land trilogy, I can
report the former more than the latter.

Given almost all fantasy book blurbs these days blend
together into an empty nothingness, I’m tempted not to offer a plot summary of Age of Assassins.So, short and simple: Girton is apprentice to
the master assassin Merela in Castle Meriyanoc, and together they work to find
the person who is trying to assassinate Aidor, heir to the throne.Requiring Girton to go undercover among the
kingdom’s knights-in-training, he learns the Castle is home to a lot more
enmity than he ever imagined, and it will require all of his wits to stay
alive, let alone catch the culprit.

Very much a classic fantasy coming of age story, Age of Assassins pokes its nose just through
the shrapnel cloud of fantasy titles on the market these days in two areas.The first is the mystery built around who is
plotting to kill Aidor.Barker builds this
in positively suspenseful, page-turning fashion.Girton’s sneaking around the castle and
eavesdropping, as well as his confrontation with the various secondary
characters are handled fluidly. From the variegated interests to the suspects’ situations,
Barker plays these elements off one another wonderfullyIs the priest part of the
conspiracy, or just weird?Why do people
dislike Rufra?Who is the sorcerer who
killed the boy?Is master Merala
involved?And as the story moves on, the
reader finds themselves questioning even the supposed assassination target
himself, Aidor, if he is not somehow involved.Tying these threads into a knot upon the novel’s conclusion, it all
snowballs satisfyingly.

The second, and I would argue stronger, area where Barker
elevates Age of Assassins above its
peers is in delivering a compact package.Eschewing the minutae of worldbuilding in favor of concise plot and
character focus, the novel moves at a good pace, contains several moments of
surprise to keep the reader off balance, and has just enough character and
scene detail to paint the pictures unique to the story in the reader’s mind.The bulk (no pun intended) of the fantasy
shrapnel cloud these days composed of bloated worldbuilding, Age of Assassins delivers tight focus,
and is all the more readable for it.

With such a complex plot, are there holes?Yes, here and there.Barker does
his damndest to hand wave and explain, but they remain.Are there cheesy scenes?Yes, there are a few, but I think these can
be chalked up to the novel being graded for the YA audience.When looking at those scenes through teenage
eyes, they feel somewhat natural, losing their awkwardness.And for as much as it’s worth, Barker keeps such
scenes free of truly maudlin one-liners.

In the end, Age of
Assassins feels a very close cousin to Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprenticebut with more punch.Both YA, coming of age stories featuring
young assassins who are close to dramatic events happening around the throne of
a fantasy kingdom, Barker sets his story apart from Hobb’s by pushing pace a
little harder and spending less time developing the main character.As such, he is able to put more plot into his
book, which, coupled with the excellently built mystery, makes for a
page-turning read.Girton maintains
something of a super hero profile, but his doubts and concerns are honest and
relatable, which helps give the impression he is a developed character.I will not say Age of Assassins is a breath of fresh air in fantasy (that is
impossible these days), but I will say that despite the hail of shrapnel flying
around it Age of Assassins at least makes
for a tight, fun read.